Frequently, when I ask my clients where they will live if they can no longer take care of themselves, the common reply is, “I’m going to stay in my home until I die.”

If your plan is to live at home until you die, then you need to consider the following:

If you cannot live alone, who will care for you? [Not just who you would want to care for you, but who will actually be able to do so physically/financially/emotionally.]

Have you discussed this with your family?

How will the care be paid for?

Is your home wheelchair/handicap friendly? If not, can it be modified? How much will such modifications cost and how would you pay for them?

If you have not fully answered these questions and discussed these matters with your family, then there is a high likelihood that you will not be able to stay in your home until your death.

If your plan is to spend every penny that you have to remain in your home, even it means depleting your entire estate, that is perfectly okay and is your decision. However, if the person managing your health care decisions and your finances does not know your wishes, he or she may decide that some other living arrangement is better for you for either health or financial reasons.

Your likelihood of actually being able to remain in your home for as long as possible is directly tied to the planning that you do now to prepare yourself and your family for the future. The ostrich’s head-in-the-sand approach to avoiding these issues simply will not work here.

If these are issues that you’ve been putting off, then please give us a call so we can guide you through these conversations and help you put together a plan that can weather the storms that might come your way.

Want to learn about new ways to pay for long-term care that includes staying in your own home?

Attend one of our free public seminars to learn about new long-term care planning options and the important legal provisions you need to have in your estate planning to ensure that your assets aren't wiped out by the costs of long-term care. Learn more and register online here.

Carolina Family Estate Planning provides full-service estate plans to those in and around North Carolina’s Triangle, including but not limited to Cary, Wake County, Apex, Durham, Raleigh, Orange County, Holly Springs, Research Triangle Park, Morrisville, Fuquay-Varina, Durham County, Garner, Wake Forest, Chapel Hill, Pittsboro, Pinehurst, Southern Pines and Fayetteville.

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